If you go down in the woods today
You’re sure of a big surprise
If you go down to the woods today
You’d better go in disguise
For ev’ry bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic
Ev’ry teddy bear who’s been good
Is sure of a treat today
There’s lots of marvelous things to eat
And wonderful games to play
Beneath the trees
Where nobody sees
They’ll hide and seek as long as they please
That’s the way the teddy bears have their picnic
Picnic time for teddy bears
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today
Watch then, catch them unawares
And see them picnic on their holiday
See them gaily gad about
They love to play and shout
They never have any cares
At six o’ clock
Their mummies and daddies
Will take them home to bed
‘Cause they’re tired little teddy bears
If you go down in the woods today
You’d better not go alone
It’s lovely down in the woods today
But safer to stay at home
For ev’ry bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic*
~~~
*”Teddy Bears’ Picnic” is a song consisting of a melody composed by John Walter Bratton in 1907 and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children’s song, having been recorded by numerous artists over the decades. The first vocal version was recorded in 1932 by Henry Hall and His Orchestra (EMI SH 172), with Val Rosing singing Kennedy’s lyrics. We have used the precise transcription of the lyrics from the Henry Hall 1932 rendition.
To hear it click here. Better yet, listen whilst viewing the photos once again, to get into the proper mood for the upcoming holiday.
The photos:
1. The Knot Garden in predawn
2. Spider on a lily bud
3. Bear skeletons on display at the Ocoee,Tennessee Whitewater Visitors Center
4. Mushroom in the Black Garden
5. Fungus growing on the remains of Ferngully
6. Metal sculpture in the outdoor studio of Christopher Mellon in Asheville, North Carolina, aka The Gardening Welder Guy
7. Locust on Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’
8. A surprise…
9. …Revealed. New metal sculpture commissioned by offspring Brokenbeat, displayed on his car, now christened The Hopmobile for The Hop Ice Cream Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina. (see sidebar for more infor.)
10. The scariest thing of all, cosmetic surgery performed by an incompetent, namely me, on hapless Alas Poor Yorick. Click here to see him in happier times.
Happy Hallowe’en to you all!
Frances
Fairegarden 
That put a big smile on my face! Fun post, love the ice cream cone sculpture, and I think Yorick looks in great shape. Happy Halloween!
Frances, how great! We used this song every year when we did “Teddy Bear Math,” with the children. They all brought their teddy bears, lined them up on a graph by color, then height, clothes or no clothes, etc. We then had our picnic on a big blanket with Teddy Grahams with the song playing in the background.
Thanks for the history of the song.
Eileen
That rolling pin torture device looks vicious.
It looks as though you are prepared for Halloween. I may go down to the woods today….
I’m very familiar with the Teddy Bears Picnic. I think it must have been the theme song for some children’s program on the radio. You are certainly ready for Halloween. I can’t even think of something to wear to Gourmet Club on saturday.
Those sculptures are great! The fungi are fun too.
This was such a great selection of Halloween images. Poor Yorick. You must have been sad to see him broken. The song was so cute to hear along with the printed words.
I was going to post a 14 second clip of Donovan’s song, “Must be the Season of the Witch” to accompany my graphics, but changed my mind. Being new, I do not know the regulations on music on blogs. Many have players, but I was looking just for the chorus of the song. Does anyone know the rules? Has anyone posted music?
I did click to hear the You Tube song, but it would have been nice in the blog itself. I know you can post You Tube videos in a post, but was not sure on music, sans video.
Thanks Francis. I also do not like music unless I click for it. That is what I wanted on my site, a click if you want button. I did that for my bird calls, then I thought it would be cute with the subtitle. Next thought, was the trouble I could get into if this was not allowed by the very powerful music industry. Fourteen seconds may have been too much. I really did like the teddy bear song. I was not familiar with it, so it was nice to hear.
I am not sure about the sharing of music. I believe the industry is still hammering that out. It would have been cute.
Happy Halloween my dear! I hope you are going to see Little LTB in his costumed wonderfulness! I love the Hop’s ice cream sculpture~marvelous! Makes me want to chant~I scream, You scream, We all Scream for Hop Ice cream on Halloween! xxoogail
I sang this children to my children when they were little. Our favorite line was always: “At six o’clock their Mommies and Daddies would come and take them home, because they’re tired little Teddy Bears.”
Your pictures are delightful!
What a fun post this morning, Frances! I thought perhaps you had a new sculpture in your garden, before I saw the “Hopmobile”–for some reason, I now have a craving for ice cream with sprinkles:) Yorick is looking so much better after his breakdown and going to pieces. You’ve put me in the Halloween spirit!
Frances, I adored this. You’re right, listening to the song while looking at the pics is the best. I remember the song though. I used to sing it to Bear long ago.
Poor Yorick looks like he needs a Halloween mask of his very own 🙂
The Hop sculpture looks very impressive – advertising at its very best!
Happy Halloween.
Great post. I felt like a kid again reading the lyrics & listening to the music. I think the pics went with the lyrics very well.
Loved it.
Brought me right back to my childhood! This was the song that opened the children’s RADIO program Sat. mornings.
Wonderful!
Sandra
I better not go down to your garden today, what with those teddy bears having a picnic, and all those mean looking skeleton heads to scare me! Boo! Happy Halloween!
My favorite song as a child. Happy Halloween 🙂
Spooky!
I hope you have a great weekend Frances. This is a fun post. I had never heard this song before. I like the ghoul at the end. He looks friendly. The ice cream cone is great too.
Your knot garden is so lovely, and colors shine in the pre dawn. Great post!
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